Mouth sweeter than cherries
Keen eyes as of Mars
Browner than berries
And brighter than stars.
Keen eyes as of Mars
Browner than berries
And brighter than stars.
Nor colour nor wordy
Weak song can declare
The stature how sturdy,
How stalwart his air.
Weak song can declare
The stature how sturdy,
How stalwart his air.
As a king in his bright
Presence-chamber may be,
So seems he in height—
Twice higher than your knee.
Presence-chamber may be,
So seems he in height—
Twice higher than your knee.
As a warrior sedate
With reserve of his power,
So seems he in state—
As tall as a flower:
With reserve of his power,
So seems he in state—
As tall as a flower:
As a rose overtowering
The ranks of the rest
That beneath it lie cowering,
Less bright than their best
The ranks of the rest
That beneath it lie cowering,
Less bright than their best
And his hands are as sunny
As ruddy ripe corn
Or the browner-hued honey
From heather-bells borne.
As ruddy ripe corn
Or the browner-hued honey
From heather-bells borne.
When summer sits proudest,
Fulfilled with its mirth,
And rapture is loudest
In air and on earth,
Fulfilled with its mirth,
And rapture is loudest
In air and on earth,
The suns of all hours
That have ripened the roots
Bring forth not such flowers
And beget not such fruits.
That have ripened the roots
Bring forth not such flowers
And beget not such fruits.
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